Los Angeles Lakers second-year center Ivica Zubac had a very strong preseason debut against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Los Angeles Lakers have a great collection of young talent on the roster. They have a potential building block at every position on the court, taking full advantage of their poor recent seasons in the NBA Draft. In the frontcourt, their potential building block is Ivica Zubac.
The Lakers selected Zubac with the 32nd pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the second overall pick in the second round. He was not expected to have much of a role as a rookie, but that changed as the season went on.
With the Lakers fully embracing a youth movement, Zubac eventually found his way into the rotation; he even started 11 games. Only an injury kept him from adding onto those 11 starts and 38 overall appearances.
Zubac played much better than anyone could have expected. He showed flashes of being a dominant player, registering some monster double-doubles. A 25-point, 11 rebound performance against the Denver Nuggets was one of those great games.
Performances like that had the organization excited for the future. Zubac looked like he could be a foundation piece for the team in the frontcourt. However, this summer that didn’t look like the case.
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After playing well in the Las Vegas Summer League last year, Zubac struggled mightily this season. He looked slow and unsure of himself, thinking more than reacting on the court. It made for some ugly performances in the summer while the Lakers were playing faster with Lonzo Ball leading the way.
While the Lakers won the Summer League championship, Zubac did not play well. Zubac was aware of the struggles in Las Vegas and wanted to change that. Zubac worked hard to put the tough Summer League performance behind him, and through one game it looks like the hard work is paying off.
In the first preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Zubac was given some extra playing time. With Brook Lopez and Andrew Bogut sidelined, more minutes were opened up for Zubac and he made the most of them.
Zubac came off the bench, with Larry Nance Jr. in the starting lineup and it worked out well. In 19 minutes, Zubac was very productive. He scored nine points with five rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Zubac looked rejuvenated and in much better shape against the Timberwolves last night than in the Summer League. It was an excellent first preseason game for Zubac, who is down to eight percent body fat.
Next: 3 Goals For Ivica Zubac in 2017-18 Season
Zubac put in the work after Summer League to be better prepared for training camp. That extra work has seemed to pay off, as Zubac looked like a totally different player against the Timberwolves. It is something the Lakers coaching staff had to like seeing.